


Memories (Teacher! England x Student! Reader)

by Sleepy_Corinne



Series: Memories (Teacher! England x Student! Reader) [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 08:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4660011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_Corinne/pseuds/Sleepy_Corinne





	1. Chapter 1

~28 years old~   
You got up, stretched and yawned. Today was a wonderful, sunny and bright day, which meant that you were going to start the day with some strong black tea.   
As soon as you made yourself some tea you started making a sandwich – usually, you didn’t have breakfast, due to your lack of appetite in the mornings, but today you were unusually hungry.   
As you were spreading butter over your toast, two arms wrapped around your waist.   
“Morning, love.” Your usually grumpy husband greeted.   
“Good morning, Artie! How did you sleep?” You asked, giggling, as you got back to preparing your sandwich.   
“Quite well, until I woke up only to find the spot next to me empty.” He dramatically sighed.   
You gently pat his cheek and set the knife you used to spread the butter over your toast in the sink.   
“Don’t dramatize so much, dear.”   
And with that, you went to the living room. You sat down on the sofa and started eating your breakfast.   
A few minutes later, Arthur joined you. Of course, he was going to drink Earl Grey tea, like every morning. You had already eaten your sandwich and now a comfortable silence surrounded you and your husband.   
A sudden, long sigh which came from the man next to you caught your attention.   
“What are you thinking about, Arthur?” You curiously inquired.   
After another sigh, a happy one this time, he looked at you with a gentle smile as he leant his back on the sofa.   
“I was thinking about the first time we met.”   
“Mmmm…” You set your teacup on the table and cuddled up to him.   
Memories about the first time you met your grumpy, cold, cynical yet wonderful and extremely loving husband flooded your mind.   
~17 years old~   
“Fuck! Fuck!” You were mumbling under your breath as you ran towards the classroom. You couldn’t be late today!   
Today, you had to be at school early. Your old literature teacher retired and today you were going to meet your new teacher!   
Literature was something you were extremely passionate about. You strived to be an author one day – you were full of fresh, innovative ideas. The only thing you needed was somebody to support you – to guide you and help you during your long journey to your strongly desired career.   
You strongly wished that your new teacher would be someone who actually understood what he was doing.   
Your last teacher was awful – you never felt like you had literature class. If it weren’t for your textbooks you would think that you didn’t have literature at all!   
Not that you minded having free periods. They were wonderful, but you actually wanted to learn something. If only your algebra teacher, Mr. Beilschmidt, was as unserious as your now retired literature teacher…   
You finally reached the classroom. Just as you put your hand on the doorknob a bigger and warmer hand covered your own.   
That caused you to squeal and immediately pull your hand away.   
You looked up and your (e/c) eyes were met by the handsome stranger’s own vibrant green ones.   
He was extremely handsome – like the guys you see in magazines like Vogue.   
The stranger had shiny, golden hair and fair skin. He was wearing a white button up shirt which was neatly tucked in his black pants. He also had a black tie.   
There was only one, silly detail that prevented him from looking absolutely divine – a detail which caused a small, barely visible smile to make its way on your face – his eyebrows. They were ridiculously big and bushy. They looked quite dark as well, compared to his hair and pale complexion.   
“Apologies, ms. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Arthur Kirkland and I am the new literature teacher. Could you please tell me if this is room 305?”   
As soon as you registered what he said, you slowly nodded your head.   
“Yeah, this is it. Most of the rooms’ numbers aren’t very visible though. Like this one!” You pointe at the room’s number as you said that. “I am (f/n) (l/n). Nice to meet you, sir.” He nodded in acknowledgement and smiled.   
“Likewise. Now let’s get to class, shall we? I am afraid that we are rather late.”   
And with that, you entered the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

You were astonished.   
Mr. Kirkland, your teacher, the guy with the silly eyebrows from earlier who almost looked god-like was the personification of the devil himself.   
Just a few days had passed since he started teaching at your school and everyone was assured that he was the spawn of Satan.   
Other students didn’t seem t o like him because he was cold, cynical, very reserved and awfully sarcastic. Surprisingly, he was popular among girls. Probably because of his looks. Heck, the guy even had a fan club! Not like the one Mr. Bonnefoy has but still a little fan club.   
Mr. Kirkland was very strict. Anyone who interrupted him, slept, passed notes or listened to music in his class would get detention and one hell of a scolding. Most of all he hated it when somebody was texting their friends via ‘myface’ or whatever he called it. One thing was for sure: that man sure had a temper!   
Thankfully, you weren’t really a troublemaker, so so far you hadn’t bumped heads with the young literature teacher.   
Until one day…   
~28 years old~   
A giggle erupted from you and your husband looked at you, raising an eyebrow.   
“What’s so funny, darling?”   
“I just remembered the first time you got angry at me and gave me my first detention! You also gave me this really scary look which still haunts my darkest nightmares.”   
He chuckled.   
“You definitely didn’t show that you were scared. Not to mention that you did deserve detention. I remember the look you gave me when I took your phone!”   
That made you laugh.   
“I didn’t deserve it! I told you a million times that my friend called me to prank me! When you took my phone and didn’t listen to me at all, I remember thinking about how much I wanted to rip those fabulous eyebrows off!” You said, quickly touching his eyebrow and laughing even more at the face he made.   
“Ha-ha. Very funny, love. What have you against my eyebrows?” He snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.   
“Aww, don’t be like that, Artie! You know I didn’t say that to offend you!” You said, getting close to him and hugging him, burying your face in his shoulder.   
“Oh, I will forgive you…” He said, emerald eyes sparkling with mischief as he pushed you down on the couch. Your eyes widened.   
“You wouldn’t dare!”   
“Try me.” And with that, he mercilessly started tickling you. You were extremely ticklish. Curse Arthur for knowing your weaknesses!   
“Ahaha- we can- hahaha! T-Talk t-this-ahaha- out!” You tried to negotiate but he just smirked and continued tickling you.   
“Not a chance love, not a chance…”   
~17 years old~   
“Stupid Mr. Kirkland, stupid school and stupid detention…” You mumbled as you walked towards room 305.   
Unbelievable! He gave you detention! Not once before has that happened! How dare he? And what did he give you detention for? Your stupid friend thought it would be funny to call you while you were in class and Mr. Kirkland took your phone!   
You tried to explain that your friend was trying to prank you but Mr. Kirkland insisted that you were messaging someone on ‘myface’.   
Scared from his fury you may have been, but him not listening to your explanation at all and insisting on his own made you angry. So you gave him the darkest glare of all time and…   
“DETENTION!”   
The words still rung in your head. The mocking looks on your classmates’ faces didn’t help either. Neither did the kid in the back who was laughing that “Miss perfect finally got detention!”.   
Needless to say, today was a bad day.   
Soon you were standing in front of room 305. You didn’t know what to expect. With a temper like Mr. Kirkland’s there would probably be dozens of people inside…   
‘Suck it up, (l/n)! It’s not like you are going to prison… right?’   
With a nervous gulp, you opened the door and went inside.   
You were surprised – there was absolutely no one in the room other than your teacher and yourself in the room. He was sitting at his desk and scribbling something.   
“Well, what are you waiting for? Sit down already!” He barked, not once looking up from whatever he was writing.   
You thought about talking back bur you decided that you didn’t want to get on his bad side. Having this extremely sarcastic Brit constantly picking on you would be no good. You already had Mr. Bonnefoy for that. So you just sat down on your usual spot, right in front of him.   
For a minute, you just sat there, wondering what you were supposed to do. Then you started staring at Arthur, expecting him to say something.   
Your stare seemed to annoy him because his eyebrow twitched, and this past week you learnt that whenever his eyebrow twitched, he got angry. You weren’t sure if he knew that but it looked hilarious.   
Finally, he looked at you, his vivid green eyes boring into yours. He was glaring.   
“Don’t you have anything better to do other than stare at me?”   
“No.” You smiled innocently.   
“Just do something useful like… homework!” The blond said.   
“I did it already.”   
He raised an eyebrow.   
“Properly?”   
“Yes, properly.”   
Your teacher kept giving you the ‘I don’t trust you’ look and you got annoyed.   
Huffing, you took all of your homework from your bag and handed it to him. He raised an eyebrow, as if asking you what you were doing.   
“See for yourself. You don’t seem to believe me.”   
You didn’t expect him to actually do it, but he did. After a few minutes he gave you your homework back and looked genially surprised.   
“You actually did it properly…?”   
“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I do it properly?” You asked as you put your homework back in your bag.   
“B-but teenagers don’t do their homework!”   
That made you roll your eyes. What made him say that? You held back your giggles when you imagined your literature teacher watching shows like Glee and taking notes on the way teenagers act. That would be ridiculous!   
“Yes, they do. Just not everyone.”   
“Fine, if you don’t have homework, why don’t you study then? I am sure that even if you did your homework you have to study.” He said.   
“Not at school. I only feel comfortable studying at home.”   
“I am honestly impressed… you seem to be taking your studies seriously.”   
“You should be impressed.” You grinned.   
“Don’t get cocky with me.”   
“Sorry.”   
Mr. Kirkland let out a defeated sigh.   
“Just do something quietly. I have work to do.”   
And with that, he started writing whatever he was writing again. The blond didn’t spare you a second glance.   
You shrugged and let him do his work. The room was silent so you decided to work on a new story.   
After a few minutes of rummaging your backpack, you finally found the object you were looking for – a notebook in which you wrote all of your stories, ideas for stories, descriptions of your characters and that kind of stuff.   
Then, you opened the notebook, checked the last ideas you had written, chose which characters you would use for your idea and started writing. You felt rather creative today and now seemed to be a good time to write a short story. You wouldn’t have time to do that when you got back home anyways.   
Once you started writing, the only thing you could see was the page you were writing on, every single word and sentence you had written so far. You blocked out the whole world whenever you wrote stories about your characters. It helped you relax, get away from everyone and just have fun without bothering about anything else.   
The young teacher let out a sigh, ran a hand through his hair and decided to check on what you were doing. When he looked at you he was very well aware that you were in your own little world and that you wouldn’t notice a single thing he did. It made him smile; he remembered the good old times he would do this kind of thing…   
The emerald eyed man got up and walked a few feet behind you. He was rather curious and really wanted to find out what you were writing.   
At first, he thought it was some kind of diary but then he realized that you were actually writing a story. He read every sentence you had written so far and got even more impressed than he already was. You definitely knew how to use words and make a good story. Of course, there were several things you could work on, but that didn’t change the fact that you clearly had a talent and were good at this sort of thing.   
“You are good.” He finally voiced his thoughts.   
That made you jump.   
“You scared me! Gosh…” You sighed. Then you looked at him. “Thanks, I guess. I could work on some things, though!”   
The Brit raised an eyebrow, now getting curious if you were talking about the same things he noticed.   
“Work on some things? Like what?” He inquired, sitting down on the chair next to you.   
“For starters, this sentence here…” You pointed at said sentence. “There is something I have to do about it. Like, I have to fix it. It doesn’t sound very well and I sometimes struggle with expressing my characters’ emotions. Like in this sentence!”   
Mr. Kirkland read the sentence several times and after a few minutes, he cleared his throat.   
“Right. I’d say that your writing is very good but you really do have problems with expressing the characters’ emotions. As for this sentence, I noticed it as well. Maybe you could use “despise” instead of “hate”. That way the sentence will sound…” he stopped talking and thought for a second, as if trying to decide what words to use. “It will sound stronger and better. You could also add several more sentences to describe how much your character hates (random food you hate).”   
You carefully listened to his every word, thinking about everything he said and thought about what it would be if you made the changes he told you about. After replacing “hate” with “despise” you did as he said and added several more sentences. Then you smiled and looked at him.   
“It worked! Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Kirkland!”   
The young teacher chuckled.   
“No problem at all.”   
“I know you have work to do but, could you please help me out just a little more?” You gave him the look none of your friends could resist. (Y/n)’s super sad kicked puppy face!   
“What am I going to do with you?” He sighed, rolling his eyes but agreeing nevertheless. Mr. Kirkland was honestly wondering what he got himself into but he enjoyed helping you with your story.   
“Here…” You pointed at another sentence.   
And that is how your first time in detention passed. It was actually… pleasant. You didn’t know it but Mr. Kirkland enjoyed it a lot as well. He wouldn’t show it though. If this is what detention was like, you would have to thank your friend for getting you into trouble and definitely asking her to call you more often while you were in literature class…


	3. Chapter 3

It’s been about a month since Mr. Kirkland started teaching at your school. A month full of detention for you. Not that you minded. True to her word, your friend called you at least twice a week when you had literature class and, of course, you got detention. During the past month you had gotten pretty close to your young, British teacher and it was obvious to both of you that your writing skills were improving. Somehow, he managed to convince you to join several writing contests and you were proud to say that you won them all. You never expected to reach the first place but you did! The prize was money, however, you decided to save it for the future instead of spending it.   
The Brit seemed to have found friends as well – you often saw him in the school halls with Mr. Bonnefoy, your French teacher. Seeing those two together made you laugh because the two bickered nearly all of the time and it was always hilarious to watch.   
Today was no different.   
You arrived earlier than usual and made your way to room 305. Just as you were about to open the door you heard voices from inside the room.   
“Come on, mon ami~” You heard the French teacher say.   
“Absolutely not!” The other teacher replied almost immediately.   
“You look like you haven’t gotten laid in ages!”   
You slightly paled.   
‘I don’t think I should be listening to this…It sounds pretty…personal.’   
“How do you know that?!” Came the furious literature teacher’s response. The French teacher just laughed.   
“Honhonhon~” You could imagine him with that irritating smirk on his face, the one he used whenever he teased someone. “Don’t worry, I understand. Virgin frustrations, oui?”   
Silence.   
You covered your mouth with your hands. The temptation to laugh was too strong.   
“…Get out.”   
“Quoi?”   
“OUT!” Then you heard an object being thrown. Probably at the French teacher. You took a few steps back just when the door flew open and Mr. Bonnefoy ran out. He saw you, stopped running and gave you a charming smile.   
‘Oh boy, here he goes again.’ You thought, almost rolling your eyes.   
“Well, well, well! If it isn’t my favorite student, Ms. (l/n)! Bonjour, chéri! Still sad about the 88% you got on your French test? Honhonhon~”   
“I-“ You were just about to reply when a dictionary hit the teacher before you, reminding him that he was running from the infuriated Brit.   
“Stop picking on her, you twat!” That made you raise your eyebrows. Mr. Kirkland hardly cussed at school, especially in the presence of students, meaning that he must have been really angry.   
“Well, I have to run now! Bye, Ms. (l/n) and Arthur, think about it!” As soon as he said that, he ran, not wanting to be hit by another dictionary.   
You turned your attention to the young literature teacher whose face was red, he was panting and glaring in the direction the Frenchman ran. When he visibly calmed down a little, you decided to greet him.   
“Morning, sir.”   
He fixed his tie a little and gave you a polite smile.   
“Hello, Ms. (l/n).” Came the green eyed man’s reply. “You’re here early today.”   
“I woke up earlier and didn’t have anything to do at home so I decided to come earlier today.” He nodded in acknowledgement and both of you went in the classroom, sitting on your usual spots.   
“How is the story you told me you were going to write going?” The blond questioned as he started grading some tests he had on his desk.   
“I haven’t started writing it yet, but I have most things figured out already so I will write it in a few days.”   
“I see.”   
Everything was silent for a minute until you decided to speak up.   
“Mr. Kirkland, may I ask you something?”   
“Go ahead.” Just like your first time in detention, he didn’t look at you at all and paid more attention to the task at hand. You wondered if you should just let him do his job but since you already told him you wanted to ask something…   
“What’s your favorite book genre?”   
The Brit seemed to take interest in the conversation because he was now looking at you.   
“Well, I definitely like books about crimes and detectives, mysteries and I really enjoy poetry…” He had a thoughtful look on his face. “But my most favorite things to read are, don’t laugh, fairy tales. I have liked fairy tales ever since I was a little boy. Folklore and mythology are quite interesting as well.” It looked like he wanted to add something but stopped himself from doing so.   
‘I wonder what he’s hiding…’ You thought but decided not to press the matter any further.   
“How about you, Ms. (l/n)?”   
“Huh?”   
“What are your favorite genres?”   
That surprised you; You didn’t expect him to actually ask you about your favorite genres as well. You thought that as soon as he replied, he would get back to work but much to your surprise he wasn’t even holding his pen now. You told him, nevertheless.   
“Hmm, well, I like (favorite genre 1), (favorite genre 2) and…” You blushed a little. “Romance.”   
The young teacher merely chuckled.   
“You definitely look like a crime person to me.” He motioned your black hoodie and you giggled.   
“Hey, it’s just for today! Usually I wear bright colors!”   
“I can assure you that you don’t know what bright is until you go to one of my cousin’s parties.” The blond looked terrified as he said that.   
“Is it really that bad?”   
“Worse than you can imagine. Bright clothes, lots of glitter, disco balls in very single room and a huge cake with different colors which hardly looks edible. I swear, that boy concentrates on partying more rather than studying. I wonder how his parents even let him live alone…” He sighed, rubbing his temples.   
“Sounds like a unicorn puked rainbows all over the place.”   
“That’s rather accurate.” Mr. Kirkland chuckled. “And the cake tastes like it, too!”   
“Too much information.”   
“It’s what I have to deal with every single time that boy throws a party, darling.” He dramatically sighed. “The most important thing is to never eat things Alfred offers you.” 

“Alfred?”  
That’s my cousin’s name.”   
“Oh.” You nodded. “By the way, Mr. Kirkland, I finished editing the story from last detention. Would you like to read it and see if everything is alright?” The literature teacher nodded his head.   
You dug into your backpack and took out your notebook. Just as you were about to get up and give it to him, you heard the chair next to you being pulled and Mr. Kirkland sat on it.   
“I’m going to sit next to you just in case I spot a mistake and you want to fix it.” He answered when he saw the questioning look on your face.   
“Okay.”   
As soon as you gave him your notebook he started reading the story. While he read, you looked at his face, wanting to see his expression. So far you got several chuckles, some raised eyebrows and a few smiles. When he was done reading, he looked at you with a smile.   
“Very well. You are getting better. You have remarkable writing skills, Ms-“   
“Please, Mr. Kirkland, just (y/n). I’m not used to people calling me by my last name.”   
“Alright, (y/n). I’m honestly impressed. I won’t lie, you did really well on your test as well. The only 100% I’ve written so far.”   
Your eyes widened and a huge smile made its way to your face.   
“And here I thought I did really bad!”   
“Don’t worry so much. You’re a smart girl and you should have more confidence in yourself.”   
“Thanks, Mr. K!”   
“Mr. K?” The Brit chuckled. “I like how that sounds. It makes me feel like James Bond.”   
That made both of you laugh. He looked at his watch.   
“Class starts in 10 minutes, yet nobody is here yet.” The young literature teacher let out a distressed sigh.   
“Don’t worry, Mr. K! They will show up soon!”   
With a smile, he got up and went to his desk.   
“If you don’t mind, I am going to finish grading these tests.”   
“Okay! I’ll be back in a few minutes!” You ran out of the room.   
“Alright just don’t be late and—“   
There was a crash in the hall and it sounded like something broke. Then he heard you apologizing.   
“and don’t run in the halls…” He sighed. The emerald eyed man really couldn’t understand you at times. One moment you were everything he wanted in a student and the perfect and the next-   
There was another crash.   
He just rubbed his temples and smiled. Even if you were immature at times and got worked up over nothing, you were a good kid. And with that, the young teacher continued grading tests. The man actually looked forward to your next detention – he enjoyed spending time with you and reading your stories.   
However, there was someone who didn’t enjoy that one but. A phone rang.   
“Hello? Yes, it’s me. We have a problem. (L/n) is getting a little too close to Mr. Kirkland and we can’t have that, can we?”


	4. Chapter 4

It was evening and you were going back home. You were in a pretty good mood and were listening to some music. All you could think about was how much you loved detention and spending time with Mr. Kirkland.   
‘I can’t believe people say that he is the spawn of Satan. He’s a pretty decent guy when he isn’t trying to accuse someone of slacking off during his class.’ You thought. Then your thoughts drifted off to dinner and you realized that you needed to buy ingredients in order to cook (favorite food).   
After you bought the ingredients your day passed like usually. You got back home, cooked dinner, ate and ironed your clothes for the next day. You were thinking about calling your parents on Skype but it was too late by the time you did all of your chores so you took a shower instead.   
Before going to bed, you continued writing the story you started in detention since you got some ideas how to continue it while you were showering. After writing everything you wanted to write, you closed the notebook with a smile.   
“Mr. Kirkland will love this one when it’s done…” You happily thought, turned the lights off and fell asleep with a smile on your face.   
The next few days were normal as well. Before you realized it, the week was already nearing its end. And here you were: standing in front of the calendar, nervously biting your lip and staring at tomorrow’s date.   
“Tomorrow is Friday the 13th…”   
Ah, the dreadful day, Friday the 13th. Some people were scared of it, some people didn’t mind it at all and others despised it.   
You were wondering whether to go to school or not. For some weird reason, bad things always happened to you on that date. When you were younger, your pants had ripped, revealing your underwear and everyone at school had laughed at you. Then, in 4th grade some kid spilled his milkshake on you and you had to walk around school with a stain on your shirt the whole day. Last year, you went to a concert with friends and for the first time in your life you wore high heels and… you broke a heel. Not only that, but you also ended up tripping and bruising your knee. Ever since then you swore that you would never wear high heels. In the end, you decided that you would go. Pretty much everything bad which could happen to someone on Friday the 13th had already happened to you so you decided that you would go to school and prepare for the horrific day.   
The next day, you woke up earlier than usual. After your morning routine you went to your closet. You put on your black hoodie and your dark blue jeans. This way you wouldn’t be very noticeable. You took some spare clothes just in case. When you packed your clothes you ate some cereal, put on your sneakers and headed out.   
“Bring it, world! I’m ready!”   
With a grin, you started walking towards school. On your way to school, it started raining but you immediately took your umbrella out, opened it and hurried to school.   
You arrived at school without any accidents. When you went inside the building, you grinned. It had just started raining harder and you were already here! Win! 1-0 for (y/n)!   
You heard screams from the end of the hall and looked up, alarmed. You let out a relieved sigh. Just two girls who were making a fuss over no-   
“EEEPP!” You frantically waved your hands, trying to keep balance but slipped on the floor and fell on your butt. “Ouch…”   
However, that was the only bad thing which happened while you were at school.   
You were walking back home, happy that nothing bad happened today, aside from slipping on the floor this morning. Suddenly, you were pulled into an alleyway and slammed against a wall. You winced and looked at your attackers.   
In front of you stood three girls, one of which was holding you against the wall. They looked familiar.   
‘Wait, aren’t these girls from literature class?’   
You tried to remember their names. The one on the right had brown hair with yellow highlights, amber eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a yellow button-up shirt and blue jeans. You recognized her as Debbie. The one who was holding you had dark skin, black hair, brown eyes and was wearing a red hoodie and black jeans. Her name was Rosa. Then you looked at the one on the left – she was pretty short, had blue eyes and blonde hair tied into a low ponytail with a white ribbon. She was wearing a black skirt, a white shirt and glasses. You were pretty sure that her name was Emily.   
You were confused; As far as you were aware, they weren’t bullies. You’ve never talked to these girls and weren’t sure what they wanted from you. You knew that they were smart since while you were writing, Mr. Kirkland was grading tests and you saw that these girls scored pretty high on the test as well.   
No one was saying anything so you decided to speak up.   
“Err… hey there! I’m pretty sure that there is some kind of misunderstanding here and that I am not the person you were waiting for. So if you would please let me go-“ You tried to push Rosa’s hands off of you but she had an iron grip and slammed you against the wall again.   
“Shut up! You are exactly the person we need!” She growled, glaring at you. It was one nasty glare.   
Your back was starting to hurt and you took a deep breath, trying to calm down.   
“Okay, fine. If you could just get on and tell me whatever you need to say it would be great.” Not only Rosa could glare in such a nasty way. Back at your hometown, people preferred not to get you angry since you were really scary when enraged.   
“Don’t tell me what to- ouch!” You put your hands on her own and dug your nails into her skin. You didn’t dig your nails too deep since you didn’t want to hurt her. You just wanted her to let you go and that’s what she did. She was rubbing her hands and thinking about slamming you against the wall again but Emily stopped her.   
“T-that’s enough, Rosa! We didn’t come here t-to fight!”   
The dark skinned girl just muttered a “sorry” and Emily gave you an apologetic smile. Then Debbie spoke up.   
“Listen, we didn’t come here to fight. Just to give you a warning.”   
“A warning?” you raised an eyebrow.   
“Yes. Stay away from Mr. Kirkland.”   
“No can do. I need literature class.”   
“We aren’t talking about that!” Rosa raised her voice. “Stop spending so much time with him after school!”   
“You mean detention?”   
They nodded their heads.   
“But why?”   
“You aren’t even in the fan club! It isn’t fair! Why do you get to spend so much time with him and we don’t?” The brown eyed girl was visibly upset.   
“Rosa, calm down!” Emily squealed.   
“But she is right, Emily!” Debbie shouted. “She has higher chances with him than-“   
“Woah, woah, woah!” You cut in and they turned their attention to you. “You got it all wrong!”   
“How come?” Debbie asked.   
“Let her explain…” The blonde quietly said.   
“Listen, I’m not interested in Mr. Kirkland in THAT way. The only reason I-“   
“But you are his favorite student! He praised you so much when he was returning the tests and didn’t say Emily’s name once! She got 98% and not a single praise!” Rosa said.   
“That doesn’t matter to me. I only aim for high grades and better writing skills. In detention, he reads stories I’ve written and gives me tips so that I can improve them and my writing skills. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve never had a crush on a teacher and I never will. With that cleared out, if you don’t mind, I’ll leave. Good day.”   
And with that, you went home without looking back. You had to do something about this before things with Mr. Kirkland’s fan club got out of hand.


	5. Chapter 5

You weren’t really the kind of person who avoided their problems. In fact, when you had a problem, you preferred to solve it as soon as possible. This time, it was different. You were sure that the explanation you gave to Arthur’s fangirls wouldn’t keep them off of your back for long. Not to mention that you had a lot of tests coming up and you had to study. You decided that it would be best to avoid Mr. Kirkland for a while. Fangirls were scary and not exactly the people you wanted to have around you. This week was going to be a long one.   
It was Thursday already. This week was passing pretty quickly, which, in a way was nice. You studied, did chores, went to school and came back home. You were happy that the weekend was coming. This week was so… dull. You didn’t even bring your notebook to school. You simply didn’t feel inspired. At least your tests were easy.   
You let out a relieved sigh. Finally, your algebra test had passed and now all that was left was French. When you went out of the classroom there was a gentle tap on your shoulder. As soon as you turned, you saw Emily who was sweetly smiling at you.   
“Hello!” She chirped.   
“Hi…” You uncertainly said, wondering what she wanted.   
“I just wanted to apologize about what happened on Friday.”   
“Oh.”   
“So… sorry.” The blonde awkwardly said.   
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”   
You turned around to leave but Emily caught your hand and you turned to look at her again.   
“Listen, I am really, really, really sorry about what happened. Please don’t hate Rosa and Debbie because of what happened. They are nice but… they like Mr. Kirkland… a lot. So please, just… just be careful, okay?” The blue eyed girl looked sincere so you decided to trust her. By now, the hall was empty.   
“Alright, thanks. Really. I’ll keep it in mind.   
“Phew! That’s a relief! I will be going now! Bye!” Emily smiled and happily ran off. You slowly started walking towards Mr. Kirkland’s classroom. You were still thinking about your conversation with Emily. Then the bell rang and your eyes widened, realizing that you will be late for class.   
As you ran towards the classroom, you thought about your literature teacher. The past few days he looked worried – you caught him looking at you a few times while he was teaching. He looked as if he wanted to ask you something.   
You arrived a few minutes after class started. When you entered the room, everyone seemed surprised that you were late. Nevertheless, with a wave of his hand, Mr. Kirkland told you to sit.   
A few minutes later, someone threw a small, crumpled piece of paper at you. You usually avoided passing notes in class but this time curiosity got the best if you and you infolded the note. It was from Rosa and Debbie. You let out a quiet, annoyed sigh and rubbed your temples as you read the note.   
‘What the hell was that?! Don’t be late for Mr. Kirkland’s class! You are stealing his attention and you said that you weren’t interested in him! We-‘   
“Ms. (l/n), are you passing notes in my class?”   
You looked up and saw that your teacher was glaring at you.   
“No.” You said, voice trembling slightly. He came closer.   
“Let me see.”   
This was bad. You started panicking as he extended his hand, waiting for you to give him the piece of paper that you were holding. However, much to everyone’s surprise, rather than giving him the note, you tore it to pieces. Then you looked at the Brit’s face – oh, if only looks could kill…   
“Detention.”   
As soon as he walked away and wasn’t looking at you anymore you slumped on your desk.   
‘Damn it.’   
When class ended, everybody got up and walked out of the room, happy that school was over for today. You remained in the room. Debbie and Rosa glared at you as they walked past you and you glared back. You were surprised when you felt a reassuring pat on your shoulder and saw Emily.   
“Good luck.” She said in her usual, quiet voice and ran after her friends. You smiled. The blonde was such a sweet girl.   
Then Mr. Kirkland closed the door, sat on his desk and stared at you. After a few minutes, he finally spoke up.   
“Are you angry?”   
“Of course I am angry! I should be home, studying for my French test tomorrow but-“   
“Not that. Are you angry at me? You’ve been avoiding me.” You glared at him for cutting you off and remained silent.   
“Can you tell me why you are angry?”   
“I am not angry.”   
“Then? Do you have problems at school?”   
“You and I both know that I always get high grades so you don’t even need to ask me that.” You replied, scoffing.   
“I am not talking about studies. Do you have problems with your classmates or any of the teachers?”   
“No…” You muttered, gulping. You weren’t good at lying.   
“Are you sure?”   
You curtly nodded.   
“Alright then…” Your literature teacher sighed. “Just go home and study. No use of me keeping you here. Good luck on your test tomorrow.”   
“Thank you.” And with that, you left.   
On your way home, you were pushed into the very same alleyway from last Friday. You fell on the ground, scraping your knee and letting out a hiss. Then, before you could do anything, you were pulled up and slammed against a wall. Again. You looked up and weren’t surprised when you saw Debbie and Rosa.   
“What the fuck do you think-“ Rosa was saying but quieted down as soon as she heard a can being kicked and saw it rolling down the ground. You were about to look up to see who she and Debbie were looking at when-   
“Martinez! Let go of (l/n) this instant!” Came your teacher’s strict voice.   
‘Fuck it all…’ You though as you closed your eyes, hoping that when you opened them again he wouldn’t be there.   
“Well?” Mr. Kirkland snapped and Rosa let go of you, backing away and standing next to Debbie. Then, the Brit noticed the other girl.   
“Cooper! I didn’t expect this from you. Ganging up on (l/n) with Martinez? Shame on you.”   
They were silent. Mr. Kirkland clicked his tongue and took you by your elbow, dragging you away but still minding your scraped knee which had started bleeding.   
~28 years old~   
“Hey, Arthur, that day you saw Rosa and Debbie with me in the alleyway…” You started but quieted down, unsure how to put what you wanted to say in words.   
“Hmm? Those girls who bullied you?” Arthur questioned, looking at you. “What of it?”   
“When did you start loving me?”   
“Who said that I loved you?” The Brit raised an eyebrow, smirking. You hit him and he laughed.   
“Honestly, I don’t know. I know when I realized that I loved you but I am not sure when I started loving you. Judging by how you started your sentence a few minutes ago, you are curious if I felt something when I saved you from these two?”   
You slowly nodded your head.   
“Oh, love…” Your husband wrapped his arms around you, bringing you closer to himself. “I am pretty sure I liked you long before that happened.” After he said that, he pressed his lips against yours in a kiss.   
“I love you…” He whispered, resting his forehead against yours and lovingly grazing at you.   
“I love you too, Arthur.” You smiled at him.


	6. Chapter 6

After “saving” you from Rosa and Debbie, Mr. Kirkland took you to his car. You were surprised – the man had a first aid kid in his car! After taking it out, he cleaned the wound on your knee and then bandaged it.   
“There.” The literature teacher smiled at his handiwork but that smile quickly disappeared as soon as he got up.   
“Thank you.” You said, smiling at him, but your smile faded when all you got in return was a frown.   
“I know you have a test tomorrow but please, we need to talk. Can we go somewhere else? I really need some answers…”   
“Let’s go.” You sighed, giving up.   
As soon as both of you got in his car, the Brit started it and drove you to a restaurant. When he parked his car and you got out, you looked around. The place looked extremely unfamiliar – you had never been there before.   
The restaurant looked spectacular both from the inside and the outside. You didn’t really have enough time to take in the way the restaurant looked on the outside though – Mr. Kirkland had quickly started walking towards the entrance and you had to run after him to keep up with his pace. Realizing that you had a hard time keeping up with him, he waited for you and started walking slower.   
‘Neat.’ You thought, taking in everything. The restaurant was Victorian era styled, cozy and had a nice feel to it. There were a lot of people but it wasn’t loud, in fact, it was calm. Light piano music was playing. The waitresses were wearing pretty yellow dresses. You made a mental note to visit this place again.   
The blonde haired man started walking towards a table near the corner and you followed him. A waitress gave you menus as soon as you sat down.   
You wondered whether to order food or not but quickly looked at Mr. Kirkland when he spoke up.   
“Order anything you want.” He said. “You must be hungry and the food here is delicious.”   
Nodding, you scanned the menu and decided to order (favorite food) and (favorite drink). Your companion ordered scones and iced tea. He spoke up again when your food was served and the waitress left.   
“Let’s cut to the chase. Why did you lie?”   
“I didn’t lie.” You calmly said.   
“You said that you didn’t have any problems – problems with your peers and teachers.”   
“I don’t have any problems with either of them. What happened earlier was a misunderstanding.”   
“How was it a misunderstanding?” He raised his voice. “Martinez was slamming you against the wall, shouting at you and you even scraped your knee!”   
You winced at his tone. You felt like a child being scolded and you sighed.   
“Mr. Kirkland-“   
“Oh, for the love of god, no need for formalities. Just call me Arthur from now on when we are alone. Preferably out of school.”   
“Fine then, Arthur.” The corners of your lips lifted slightly when you said his name. It had such a nice ring to it. “Listen, I am not a child. I can take care of myself – I’ve been doing it ever since I moved in this town. My parents trust me and that is why they didn’t mind me going to study in a different town. I really, really, really don’t have a problem with anyone. It’s just that… some issues which I need to take care of have arisen.”   
He was staring at you, trying to take in everything you said.   
“I trust you as well but I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about Rodrigez and Cooper. It’s no secret that you are one of my – if not my most – favorite student, but I want you to tell me when things like this happen. I will help, I promise.”   
“I know. I trust you.” You smiled at him and this time he actually smiled back.   
“Good. Then tell me, why did Martinez do that?”   
“…”   
“Okay, then why did you avoid me?”   
“I didn’t-“   
“Don’t try to deny it, sweetheart. I know perfectly well when someone is avoiding me.” For a moment he had a very distant look in his eyes. It was as if he remembered something very sad.   
“…”   
The teacher let out a distressed sigh.   
“At least tell me if it is related to Martinez and Cooper. Are they the reason you were avoiding me?”   
Biting your lip, you slowly nodded your head.   
“I see.” He stared at you, as if trying to read your thoughts but eventually just sighed again. “Eat your food before it gets cold.”   
And with that, both of you ate in silence for a while. It was getting a little awkward…   
“Don’t take any of this the wrong way. I just care about your wellbeing.” The man finally spoke up again.   
For some odd reason your heart started beating faster for a moment. A weird, funny feeling filled your stomach. As if there were butterflies in your belly, fluttering their wings and gently tickling you. It felt pretty nice… Wait. A pleasant feeling in your stomach? The cause of this was obvious:   
“The food is delicious!” You exclaimed with a big smile on your face.   
Arthur stopped eating to look at you, confused, but his confused look was replaced by a jolly smile.   
“I know! I love coming to this restaurant – both the atmosphere and the food are great. Not to mention, the prices are very affordable as well. In my opinion, this is one of the best restaurants in town.”   
“I second that! It’s really nice and the piano music is wonderful. Really calming. It almost makes me forget about my French test.”   
“Now that you mentioned it, the music is indeed quite lovely.” Then he chuckled. “You really are something. You really care about your studies a lot, don’t you? Since I wasted so much of your time for studying, I feel like a compensation is in order. I am quite good when it comes to French and I am willing to help – that is, if you want me to.”   
“I would love some help!” Your (e/c) were shining in happiness. “Thank you so much, Arthur!”   
“You’re welcome, (nickname). It’s really no problem at all.” He said. Then, you took out your notebooks and textbooks, moved to sit next to your companion and the two of you started studying, not noticing the looks old ladies gave you. If you weren’t so caught up in studying, perhaps you would have noticed a lady saying that the two of you were a match made in heaven.


	7. Chapter 7

It was around 8 PM when you finally finished studying. The little study session you had with Mr. Kirkland was incredibly fun! For the first time in your life you found studying for your French test enjoyable. Arthur was fluent in French and you simply adored his accent! You made a mental note to ask him to read you a book in French some time.   
You had revised and understood absolutely everything. You were certain that you would get 100%, you would completely nail this test, and you would rub it in Mr. Bonnefoy’s face for the rest of his Camembert-loving life. It’s not like he didn’t deserve it. You were always so close to the perfect score, yet the bastard always seemed to find mistakes where there were none. Not this time! You could easily imagine yourself as one of those villains on the cartoons – rubbing your hands together and laughing evilly. You found the concept of that idea quite amusing.   
Sadly, all good things must come to an end – just like your study session with the Brit – you genuinely hoped that you would have the chance to hang out with your literature teacher again in the future. He was fun to talk to.   
Your companion called the waitress and asked for the bill. Everything you ordered was around 25$. You dug into your bag, looking for your wallet but stopped when the blond handed the girl the money. You glared at him when he looked at you, making him raise an eyebrow.   
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He questioned.   
“I have money. I could’ve paid for myself.”   
“Now, now. You live alone and you need to save your money. I have a job and enough money so paying doesn’t bother me. Not to mention, I am a gentleman and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I let a lady pay.” The man tried to reason and you sighed.   
“We should’ve gone Dutch… never mind.   
“It’s quite alright.”The man reassured you. “I enjoy spending time with you and I am sure that you have better things to do after school than spend time with your literature teacher so paying was the least I could do.”   
“N-nonsense!” You immediately countered. “You are fun to be around! I think of you not only as my teacher but as a friend as well! SO next time it’s my treat!”   
Silence.   
Realizing how that must have sounded, your cheeks reddened in embarrassment. You had to say something, and you had to say it quick. Stupid! What even made you think there would be “next time”?   
“Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, I-“   
Arthur just laughed and looked at you with his happy, sparkling green eyes.   
“Of course, darling. I don’t mind. But…” He took out a piece of paper and started scribbling something. Then he handed it to you after carefully folding it.   
“My phone number.” The Brit said when he saw the confused look on your face. “If we are going to go out again you will be needing it, I believe?” You smiled at him and both of you headed out of the restaurant.   
It was pretty cold and dark outside. Mr. Kirkland told you that he would drive you home. You loved the air conditioning in his car – as soon as he turned it on, everything was so warm and nice. You could just fall asleep. The ride was quiet until you got bored and decided to speak up. You saw that he had some CDs in his car and suggested him to play one. His reaction was interesting – he got nervous, put all of the CDs in his bag and said that you couldn’t listen to them because… god, you forgot why. It was some odd story which he obviously made up and clearly, he was lying. You decided to leave it at that. It was a long but very fun night.   
Arthur was surprised – he expected you to say that he was lying and bother him until he played something. The man was content, nevertheless. Of course you would believe him! He was your strict, respectable teacher. Why would you even assume that he was lying? He mentally pat himself on the back.   
Soon, you arrived at your place and parted. You went in your apartment, on the last floor of the building. It was the tallest building in your area with 20 floors. You lived on the very last floor which was both horrifying and awesome. See, you were afraid of heights – the reason why you barely set a foot on the balcony and avoided it so much. But you had to admit one thing: the view was mesmerizing. The one from the balcony and your bedroom window – the view was probably the biggest plus this apartment had. Just standing there and observing the city, the lights, moving cars and the people was fun. Especially since the people looked like ants. That was hilarious.   
You took a shower, changed into your pajamas and with a towel wrapped around your neck, just to prevent your pajamas from getting wet, you cautiously went out on the balcony. It was around 11:30 PM – you spent more time under the shower than you originally planned to.   
You smiled and took a deep breath. The lights reminded you so much of the trip to Europe you went to with your parents. Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary and even Bucharest in Romania. All of these cities were beautiful during the day – and even more at night. You fondly smiled at the memories and started thinking about what would come next year. You loved traveling and you eagerly awaited for your next trip. Your parents said that next year you would either go to Paris or Istanbul. It would be marvelous…   
Daydreaming was nice but you decided that it was about time to go to bed. You blow dried your hair and went to bed. The Borgias, one of your favourite TV series was playing on TV. You usually turned your TV on and always watched HBO but now, you chose to switch the TV off and go to bed. Normally, you would watch your favorite shows even if they continued until very late but you had a French test tomorrow and you didn’t want to be tired in the morning. Before you fell asleep, ideas about a story set in The Renaissance flooded in your head but they would have to wait until tomorrow.   
~28 years old~   
Your phone vibrated from its spot on the table, making you open your eyes.   
“Huh…?” You yawned. “Did I fall asleep?”   
You noticed that you were resting your head on your still sleeping husband’s lap. Just one look at him made you get up and abruptly cover your mouth in an attempt not to laugh.   
Arthur was sleeping in THAT way again. He had fallen asleep while sitting and now his mouth was open. This had happened before on different on different trips you went to.   
You remembered sitting in that bus, still awake at 3 AM and looking at everyone sleep in the very same way Arthur had slept back then and the way he was sleeping now. Then, you had to put a lot of effort into muffling your laugh. You tried so hard that it brought tears to your eyes. Thankfully, you didn’t wake anyone up which made it so funny that you barely restrained the giggles which were threatening to spill from your mouth. You calmed down when you noticed the weird look the driver was giving you and you send him the most strict look you could muster – as if telling him to look at the road and listen to his GPS. You kept an eye on the driver and the road the whole night. Damn, now that you thought about it, that guy must have thought that you were an owl or something.   
Remembering that made you giggle quietly. Then, your phone vibrated again and you quickly took it from the table, glancing at the blond who only muttered something but continued sleeping.   
You entered your passcode and unlocked your iPhone. You went into settings and turned vibration off since you didn’t want to wake Arthur up. Then, you returned to your home screen and noticed that you had a message on iMessage. How odd. Most people messaged you on Facebook rather than iMessage – you hardly got any messages there. You opened it – wait, what was this weird email? Who was this person? Awesome69God@gmail.com? You bit your lip.   
‘I swear, something was out there, desperately trying to make me laugh.’   
The message was pretty long but you decided to read it anyways. It was probably just one of your friends messing with you. Heck, it could even be Francis for all you knew. You wouldn’t be surprised.   
“Hey, I’m not sure if I got the right email but I was wondering if you are (y/n) (l/n), from (high school name)? I am Gilbert Beildschmidt. If it’s you, I am pretty sure that you remember me…”   
Of course you remembered him. How could you forget him? You continued reading the message brows furrowed.   
“I am in London for a few days to visit Francis – you know, our French teacher from high school – and he said that you live in town as well and suggested me to hit you up and invite you out to catch up?”   
Huh, the whole thing sounded pretty sketchy. But the Frenchman and your old classmate were friends – Francis had told you that he was a family friend of Gilbert’s so it kind of made sense. You read the last message he sent.   
“P.S.: If you aren’t (nickname), I’m sorry for bothering you.”   
Your eye twitched in annoyance. Only close friends and family could use your nickname. You wondered if you should reply and go out with him.   
“Hmmm…”   
Well, you weren’t really that found of the albino but seeing an old face once in a while was nice. You started writing your reply, no noticing that Arthur was slowly waking up.   
Of course, when he saw how distracted to you were, the man smirked and pounced on you, pushing you to lie down on your back and getting on top of you.   
“Morning sweetheart.”   
“It’s actually afternoon.” You glared, yet the corners of your mouth lifted slightly.   
“Smartass.” The Brit snorted. “Who are you messaging? You rarely get any messages on iMessages unless it’s yours truly.” He noted. That was true. Arthur’s name was right under Gilbert’s funny email address… which Arthur just read.   
“Tut, tut, love. Is this where writing best sellers brought you? Cheap, low-quality cyber se-“   
“SHUT UP! IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!” Your face reddened. You knew that he was joking but you still occasionally got flustered when the two of you spoke about sex.   
“I am only pulling your leg, (nickname).” Arthur lovingly kissed your cheek and sat down, pulling you up so you could sit as well. You thanked him, finished writing your message and your husband spoke up again.   
“So who is this mysterious Awesome69machine? Or was it god?”   
“It’s god and well…”   
Knowing how much your emerald eyed lover disliked Gilbert, you seriously wondered whether to tell him or not.   
“(Friend’s name). She is pulling a prank on me, again. Just like when she called me in literature class back in high school.”   
He shuddered.   
“Even though she is the reason we got so close, I never took a liking to her…”   
“You’re still angry because of the prank she pulled on our wedding.   
“Of course I am bloody angry! I am never letting a friend of yours design a suit or any article of clothing for me, ever again!”   
“Come on, it’s one of the things which made our wedding so unforgettable and… unique…” You purred, getting closer to him and wrapping your arms around his neck.   
“Is it?” Your Brit smiled, pulling you even closer. He was about to kiss you when-   
RIIIIIIINGGGGGGG.   
“(Y/nnnnnn)! Pick uuuuuuuuup!” Your phone’s voice mail played. This time, it really was (f/n)! You gave the man an apologetic look and he sighed, letting you go.   
“Sorry Artie, I have to pick that up.”   
“Whatever.” He crossed his arms over his chest, a frown making its way on his face. “I hate that girl.” You giggled and kissed his cheek.   
“I will make it up to you, I promise!” You said as you picked your phone up and walked in the kitchen. “Hello? (F/n)?”   
“Hey, (y/n)! Did I cockblock again?”   
This time, you let out a hearty laugh since you didn’t have to worry about waking anyone up. Your life was fun – truly enjoyable. You always thought of it as one of those really good comedies which everybody loved.   
Of course, every good comedy has a pinch of drama…


	8. Chapter 8

~17 years old~   
Your peaceful slumber was cut short by the one thing you despised so much, yet could never get rid of because of how much you needed it – your phone’s alarm. Don’t get me wrong, throwing it from the balcony would be no problem BUT you did need your phone and it was rather expensive so you preferred not to do it any harm… for now. Not to mention, you needed your phone to keep in touch with your friends and relatives! Scratch that, all you ever used it for was playing games like Candy crush. Yep, sounds about right!   
Getting up, you stretched and yawned, opening the door which led to the balcony – you needed to get some fresh air. You made yourself breakfast and sat down at the table on the balcony with a blanket wrapped around you since it was kind of cold. Another reason why you liked your apartment so much – you didn’t have to share your balcony with anyone unlike the people who lived on the lower floor. No, not because you were one special snowflake. This had happened simply because your landlord – Mr. Smith – didn’t have enough money to finish the last floor. You knew that the room across from yours was finished but nobody had rented it yet. Nevertheless, you were happy with your current situation.   
After breakfast you took a shower, brushed your teeth got dressed and walked out of your flat, locking it. You entered the elevator and as you walked out of it you noticed some guys carrying really heavy-looking boxes. Mr. Smith was watching them like a hawk but once he saw you he smiled and greeted you.   
“Hey, Mr. Smith! Finally decided to make that Jacuzzi I asked you for in my room?” You joked, smiling back and he laughed.   
“No, not in this lifetime, hon! Funny that you mention it, the room across from yours will have a Jacuzzi so I apologize for all of the noise you will have to endure!”   
“Whaaat?” Your jaw dropped. “Now, that is just mean! Can I more to the room across from mine~?” You playfully asked.   
“Offer isn’t available anymore, you lil’ bugger!” The man let out a hearty laugh, causing you to giggle as well. “You had your chance!”   
“But seriously, are you for real? Will there really be a Jacuzzi?” You asked, curious. You could always break into the apartment across from yours and use the god damn Jacuzzi! Ain’t no Mr. Smith stopping you! ... If that was his real name of course!   
“Yes cookie, it will have a Jacuzzi. Apparently, some rich kid will be moving in and wanted a Jacuzzi so he paid for one!” He exclaimed. “Kids nowadays… back when I was a lil’ lad all I had was a mud puddle!”   
You laughed, picturing your landlord playing in a huge mud puddle as a little boy with mud all over his face.   
“Too much information!”   
“Shush! Off to school, you go! You’ll be late!”   
“Right! Later, Mr. Smith!”   
“Bye, kiddo!” He grinned as you walked out of the door but came back in to glare at him. “I will be back...”   
“You’re not the Terminator, KIDDO.”   
“This isn’t over! I am telling you, I will be back!” That being said, you ran towards the bus stop.   
“Of course. They always come back for more…” Mr. Smith laughed at his own joke and continued to observe the workers.   
Somehow, you had managed to catch the bus and had gotten to school on time.   
Everyone seemed awfully excited today – more than the usual horny teenage dumbasses level as you sometimes referred to it. Because face it: people at school could be really annoying.   
Just as you were wondering what everyone was talking about you felt a tap on your shoulder and sure enough, when you turned you saw Emily.   
“Hi, (y/n)! How are you today?” The bubbly blonde chirped.   
“Good!” You smiled at her. “You?”   
“Great! Really excited!” That made you raise an eyebrow. Nevertheless, this was your chance to learn why everyone was so excited and you would use this opportunity to ask her!   
“Why excited?”   
“Haven’t you heard? Gilbert Beildschmidt, a famous German model, us going to study at our school! I can’t wait to meet him!”   
“Oh! Well…” You weren’t sure who that was. Emily seemed to notice.   
“Hold on!” She started rummaging through her backpack and after a few minutes she took out a magazine – Vogue.   
“Here! Look at the cover! That’s him!”   
Doing as she said, you took the magazine and carefully examined its cover. On it, an albino proudly stood with a what you would call a sassy smirk on his face. Ruby red eyes gleaming with mischief, contrasting his awfully pale skin. You couldn’t believe how pale this guy was! Then again, it might s well be the lighting or maybe he wore make up – you had no clue but that wasn’t really that important.   
“Handsome, isn’t he?” The blonde next to you giggled.   
“I guess.” You said, giving her her magazine back. He was handsome, yes, but not THAT handsome.   
“By the way, did you write that assignment Mr. Kirkland gave us last week?” 

 

“Yeah!”   
“Can I have a look? Pretty please with lots of whipped cream and a cherry on top? I am having some difficulty finishing mine!”   
“Sure! I could help you if you want.”   
“That would be great! Thanks!”   
You went to the classroom and sat down. You helped Emily finish her assignment and chatted with her until Mr. Kirkland came in – then she moved back to her seat.   
Today, Arthur was going to speak about the Renaissance. He had just started talking when the door opened and a boy came in. You guessed it: Gilbert Beildschmidt!   
Everyone was looking at him with amazement, fascination and curiosity.   
‘Wow, he really is pale!’   
You noticed that your blond teacher was tapping his foot on the floor – thing he did when he was annoyed. You were surprised how many little things you noticed about your teacher – how he always rubbed his right eyebrow when he was in deep thought, how he would clean his glasses whenever you had a test and he was done with whatever he was going and how he would remove his glasses whenever you entered the room to have detention. Those glasses which made him look ridiculously cute and handsome at the same time. You blushed at your own thoughts.   
“Well? Aren’t you going to apologize for being late and ask if you can stay in class?” The emerald eyed male snapped at the teen model who stood at the door with a smirk on his face.   
“I’m sorry for being late. May I stay in class?” He asked, his tone making everybody’s eyes widen. Was he mocking Mr. Kirkland? The most scary teacher in school, feared by many? His foolish bravery was amazing… but stupid.   
“ You may.” Arthur replied with the same tone. “ But you are a new student, no? Introduce yourself first.”   
“With pleasure.” The albino replied as he stood in front of the whole class. His expression didn’t change one bit. “Guten tag. I am Gilbert Beildschmidt. You’ve probably seen me on many magazine covers but most recently on Vogue.” Gilbert looked at the Brit, wanting to see his reaction but frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the unimpressed look on your teacher’s face.   
“I said introduce yourself, not brag. You can attempt to court ladies during the break but definitely not during class, especially my class. Now sit here, at the front.” Mr. Kirkland pointed at the empty desk next to yours. Gilbert was planning to sit on the chair which was closer to you until the Brit spoke up and stopped him.   
“ Not so close to (nickname).”   
Woahh! Everybody gasped and looked at you, making your face flush in embarrassment. Arthur had just called you by your nickname! Never once had he called someone by their nickname before! He didn’t use your first names either! The literature teacher always referred to his students as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’.   
Feeling all of your classmates’ gazes, all of the questions they were going to ask once class was over – it all made you feel so nervous! You couldn’t handle that much attention!   
“Ms. (l/n), I mean.”   
“You two dating or something?” The German asked, now his eyes really had a scary glint to them – a very scary and dangerous one.   
“Of course not. That’s illegal, if you aren’t aware.”   
“Oh, me? I know that, I was just reminding you.”   
The blond’s face went red – he was really angry and looked like he was about to explode.   
“Yes, Mr. Beildschmidt, I am in the know.” He hissed, glaring at the boy who looked like he couldn’t care less.   
“ But really, wouldn’t you date her? Or maybe she isn’t pretty enough? I think that she is really pretty…” Gilbert was eyeing you and you just glared at him, wanting him to just fuck off already.   
“ Yes, Ms. (l/n) is quite lovely…” Arthur looked at you but quickly turned his attention back to the troublesome new student. For unknown reasons, your heart started beating faster for a few minutes and you missed some of the things Mr. Kirkland said.   
“...But she is a minor and as you mentioned earlier that is illegal. She is just a student.”   
Ouch, that kind of hurt. You understood he had his reasons and all he was doing was right but that really kind of stung.   
“…So stop throwing false accusations around and let me teach. I have another class with you after this one but I doubt it will be enough to teach you lot something.”   
“ Good! I can try my chances with (nickname) then!” Gilbert gleefully exclaimed, smirking at you.   
“Ms. (l/n) wouldn’t spend time with-“   
“Wasn’t it (nickname) a few mi-“   
“ENOUGH!” Your voice rang out through the room, making everybody look at you. “Gilbert, right? Why don’t you mind your own business and stop creating drama where there is none? I would also be really grateful if you didn’t use my nickname. If you could do that, it would be great.”   
“Sorry liebe…” The albino calmly said, still smirking. “I will try not to… just for you.”   
You scoffed and rolled your eyes as you sat down.   
This was going to be one long year…


	9. Chapter 9

The second period of literature passed like the first one. Gilbert saying something and teasing Mr. Kirkland, the Brit getting hot under the collar, the German model saying something about you and/or implying there was a relationship between you and the teacher and you snapping back at him. You never knew that you could start hating someone so quickly, to the point where you were literally wondering where to get some body bags. If you were to murder Gilbert, you were sure that Arthur would be more than willing to help.   
The rest of your classmates seemed to be happy and why wouldn’t they be? Mr. Kirkland and your conversations, or rather, arguments with Gilbert were way more interesting than the Brit’s lesson about The Renaissance.   
“For the last time Mr. Beildschmidt-“ The blond started.   
“Just shut your trap already!” You finished his sentence. Both of you were glaring at the smirking albino.   
“Finishing each other’s sentences? How romantic! Mr. Kirkland do you do that in the bedroom as w-“   
“SHUT UP!” You shouted, face flushed at the mere thought of doing something like that with your teacher.   
“So you hadn’t done it yet?” The new, red eyed student asked. You wanted to slap that smirk off of his stupid face. Who was he to ask such questions?!   
“For the last bloody time – no!” Mr. Kirkland was annoyed and embarrassed. His own face was a little red but his blush was barely visible.   
The German asked the same questions over and over again but with different words.   
The emerald eyed male face palmed. He should just ignore the annoying new student and carry on with his lesson! This was a classroom and he wouldn’t let some clown turn this sacred room into a circus! No, definitely not. He would have carried on with his lesson if only the boy didn’t annoy him so much. Heck, the teacher wasn’t even sure why it bothered him so much! Maybe because the German exchange student involved (nickname) in their conversation? No way! Now he was just being silly! He blocked out those thoughts and started paying attention to Gilbert’s conversation with (y/n).   
“Are you deaf or do you have some kind of mysterious disease which prevents you from using your brain?”   
“Shut it, frau. You don’t have to be so feisty and don’t play hard to get either. You like me. I can see it in your eyes.”   
“And I can see that you have the tendency to confuse like with dislike.” The young literature teacher noted, finally rejoining the conversation. The boy was quiet for a while.   
“…So do you use toys?”   
You and Arthur groaned in annoyance.   
“Mr. Kirkland, just do your best to ignore him and carry on with your lesson.”   
The Brit was surprised that he was actually able to ignore the young boy who cockily smirked at him for a while but it worked. Gilbert eventually settled down.   
At one point you curiously glanced at him from the corner of your eye. The albino appeared to be taking notes – ah, no, wait. He was doodling. Never mind.   
After the bell rang, the blond man with bushy brows wanted to talk to you. He was just saying that you wouldn’t be able to have “detention” today since he was busy again. Just then, your beloved German classmate swung an arm around your shoulders.   
“If he won’t take you on a date, I will!”   
“Jesus Christ, Gilbert!” You exclaimed, startled. “Don’t do that! And Mr. K, for the second time this week!”   
“I know, I know and I am sorry, (nickname). I really am. I would love discussing your newest story with you but I just can’t today.” He looked somewhat nervous, but you decided not to question it.   
“It’s fine.” You responded with a sigh.   
Gilbert looked at you, then at Arthur, back at you and finally back to the emerald eyed teacher.   
“Pssst!”   
“What?” Mr. Kirkland raised an eyebrow at the boy.   
“It isn’t fine!” The albino whispered rather loudly.   
“I’m right next to you and I can hear you perfectly fine.” You glared. Then, a small smile formed on your lips. He was trying to lighten the mood! Arthur cracked a smile himself and chuckled, realizing that as well.   
“On Friday. I promise.” The blond said and you nodded, smiling.   
“Does that mean that you are going to have-“   
“NO!” Both you and the blond said, glaring at the German.   
“Fine, fine…”   
***  
Poke.   
Twitch.   
Poke.   
“Would you stop that?!” You harshly whispered at the red eyed male who was sitting next to you.   
You had algebra, your last period for today, and for some odd reason Mr. Beildschmidt decided to put his little brother next to you.   
Earlier you had realized that Gilbert and your algebra teacher had the same last name and asked the albino about it. He told you that they are brothers and as soon as the other German entered the room and saw you two talking he made his brother sit next to you. Fabulous.   
And here you were, glaring at the rather handsome model next to you. You never believed that one’s eye could twitch in annoyance but boy, were you wrong. Gilbert found that awfully amusing and laughed in a weird way. It sounded like “kesese” or something among those lines.   
“Why? It’s fun.”   
“No, it’s not. I want to pay attention-“   
“To me?”   
“No!”   
That came out louder than you intended and Ludwig, that’s what Gilbert told you his brother’s name was, looked at you.   
“Settle down, (l/n) or you will be joining me on the blackboard.”   
“Sorry sir.” You apologized and he nodded, continuing to write things on the blackboard while talking.   
You were taking notes and listening to Mr. Beildschmidt. Class was almost over and he was giving homework when-   
Poke.   
Poke.   
Poke.   
“Stop it-“   
“(l/n), extra homework for you.” You groaned. Damn Gilbert. You just wanted to go back home already.   
Soon, the bell rang and everyone went out. The weather was nice today. Probably one of the last warm sunny days. You were going to miss the nice weather. Walking back home in the snow was such a pain in the neck even though you liked snow.   
The town centre was extremely lively and lots of people could be seen just walking around and enjoying the nice weather. Others were sitting at cafés and talking to their friends while drinking coffee or just doing something on their phones. Someone was playing the violin – you had seen a lot of people do that recently. They stand on a lively street and play some kind of instrument and if they were good at it and, perhaps, a little lucky they earned quite a lot of money. The music was always pleasant to the ears, nevertheless. You could say that today was one of those perfect days to go out and do something – like drinking coffee or some other drink. You would’ve loved to sit somewhere and drink (favorite drink) but alas, that extra algebra homework wasn’t going to write itself. Maybe if you started writing homework as soon as you got home you would be able to go out about two or three hours later? Yeah, you could try that!   
You were happily walking home, already planning what you were going to do when you went out later tonight when someone jumped on your back, hugging you, and nearly making you fall.   
“Ack! Hey, what are you do- oh, hell.”   
“Hello schatzi!” Gilbert greeted you. “That’s not a very nice way to say hi, you know!”   
“And since when is jumping on unsuspecting people’s backs considered nice?” You raised an eyebrow at the albino. “Whatever. What do you want?”   
“Nothing. I was walking home and saw that you were headed my way so I was wondering if you want to walk together.”   
“Do I have a choice?”   
“Nein.”   
“Let’s go then…” You sighed.   
On your way home you realized that as cocky and annoying as Gilbert may be, he was actually a pretty cool guy. He was funny, although sometimes his jokes were just too perverted.   
“…And we took some pictures and after that, during the break, he blew glitter in my face and somehow convinced me to put a tutu on! Can you believe that? We even took a selfie and posted it on instagram after Toni covered his face in glitter.”   
“Oh my god!” You laughed. “You two are insane! What did the director say?”   
“He was pretty pissed off since we had to have our hair styled again and that glitter didn’t come off easily. Thankfully, the director is a pretty cool guy and found the whole situation funny even though the photo shoot took longer than planned because of what Toni and I did. What matters is that everyone ended up having fun and working wasn’t that stressful. That happened somewhere in the beginning of my career and as we gradually started becoming more famous the photo on instagram became pretty popular.”   
“Wow! I need to see that photo! By the way, where do you live? We are nearing the building where I live.”   
“Uh… I’m not exactly sure what the address is yet because I haven’t memorized it but I remember that my landlord’s name is Mr. Smith. The building is pretty high as well.”   
“Ohh! We live in the same building then!” You gleefully exclaimed. “What floor are you on?”   
“The last one.”   
“Wait, you’re the Jacuzzi guy?” 

You were inside the building and as soon as you said that, Beethoven’s 5th symphony started playing. You quickly turned your attention to where the music was coming from and saw that it was just Mr. Smith who was holding his phone and being overly dramatic like usually.   
“You have a lot of nerve, coming back here.” The old man said, stopping the music. Your white haired companion looked extremely confused and unsure how to react.   
Striking your coolest pose, you slid your sunglasses on and looked at Mr. Smith.   
“I told you I will be back.”   
“And I told you that you are not the Terminator. I see that you’ve brought reinforcement as well.”   
“Him? If I were to bring reinforcement I would most likely bring someone from your own league, other than me, of course. Mrs. Smith.”   
Mr. Smith visibly paled when you mentioned the woman.   
“You wouldn’t dare.”   
“Try me. She is such a kind woman! Last time she gave me some of the cookies she baked! They were delicious!”   
“And that is when the spawn of Satan started living in the building. Yes, yes… it’s almost like when I lived with Eleanore.”   
“What’s that supposed to mean?”   
“It means that you’re growing up to be an old hag.”   
“OOOOH!” The albino covered his mouth with his hands, trying not to laugh. “BUUURNNN!” He high-fived Mr. Smith.   
“Better than being an old geezer who watches soap operas all day and is afraid of his ex-wife!”   
“Hey! The Duchess Approves is the best show ever!” Your landlord argued. “And that woman is a witch! I’m telling you! She always brew some awful smelling potions and made me drink them!”   
“You mean that she brew you tea?” You rolled your eyes as you went inside the elevator, followed by the German.   
“Same thing!” The old man called out.   
After both of you were inside the elevator, you pressed the button which led to the last floor and when you passed the first floor Gilbert started laughing.   
“Kesese! Are you two always like that?”   
“Yep.” You said, taking your sunglasses off and putting them in your bag.   
“That’s hilarious! In that case, I shall go to school and come back here with you just to listen to your conversations with Mr. Smith! That guy is amazing!” He said. “Wait, does he really watch The Duchess Approves?” Your companion inquired.   
“Yeah. I actually recorded him while he was arguing with the TV.” You giggled, remembering the video you made. The guy almost threw his TV out of the window!   
“I must see that video.”   
“Sure! Come over and I’ll show you it! I live in the room right across from yours.”   
After the elevator stopped you went to your apartment’s door and started looking for your keys.   
“Awesome! I’ll drop by in a few hours!”   
“Alright! Later!”   
And with that, you went in your apartment and closed the door with a smile. Today was a nice day even though you barely spoke with Arthur. Or was it?   
You sat on your bed and took your phone out of your pocket. After you unlocked the device, you opened your contacts list and the first name that popped out was his. After a few minutes of pondering whether you should text him or not you shook your head.   
“No, I need to shower and do my homework because Gilbert will come over soon. Yeah, that’s what I will do.” And with that, you got up, stretched and headed towards the bathroom.


	10. Chapter 10

It was around 9 PM when you finally finished your homework. All of it. That wasn’t bad, considering that you spent a lot of time showering – more than planned. Other than that, you ordered some pizza after you were done with your homework and since the pizza guy brought your pizza an hour later, which really surprised you, you got free pizza!   
Right now you were enjoying a piece of pizza, drinking (favorite drink) and watching Reign. You started watching the show just a few days ago and it you found it pretty intriguing. It was about Mary Stuart and you just loved the actress who played her – that woman was gorgeous!   
Now that you thought about it, you had been watching historical shows a lot recently. And by a lot I mean more than usual. You liked how fancy and posh everything looked – the castles, the dresses… And you did like these particular periods of history in which all of the shows you watched were set. With Halloween being so close, this Friday, you got a brilliant idea: you could dress up like a noble! You would get a dress tailored and you would check all of the hairstyles from The Tudors, The Borgias, Reign and any other historical TV series you could think of. You would also look for some on Youtube and you could accessorize your hairstyle with that beautiful hair band you had. Many of your friends and relatives said it made you look like a princess which often resulted with you laughing at their silly remarks.   
Having decided on what costume you wanted, you started thinking of a design for your dress while watching Reign and eating your pizza with a smile. Then, someone rang your doorbell and you got up. Brushing some hair away from your face, you went to answer the door.   
“Guten abend, frau!” Gilbert greeted as he walked past you as soon as you unlocked the door and opened it a little.   
You closed the door and locked it, muttering about the model being rude. Then you followed him into the living room and saw him, sitting on your couch, legs on your glass table and to top it all off: he was eating pizza. YOUR pizza.   
Putting your hands on your hips, you glared and cleared your throat. When you received no reaction, you did it again, but louder. This time you were rewarded with a questioning gaze and the pale boy’s full attention.   
“Whaft?” He inquired, still chewing some pizza.   
“Don’t talk while you are eating and don’t walk into other people’s houses like that! It’s extremely rude!” You scolded and the German rolled his eyes. “Also, take your feet off the table! I cleaned it today!”   
“Yeah, okay mom.” Gilbert took his feet off the table and was about to take another piece of pizza but you snatched the box away and your guest raised an eyebrow at you.   
“What are you here for anyways?” You asked.   
“Don’t you remember? You told me about that video of Mr. Smith you had and I said I will drop by sometime later. You said it was okay.”   
“Oohh…” You put the pizza box down and he took another slice.   
Now you felt stupid. How could’ve you forgotten? As you mentally scolded yourself for forgetting and being such a moron, you took your USB and connected it to your TV. Then, you took the remote and started looking for the folder, containing the ridiculously funny video of your landlord. When you finally found it, you played it and sat down next to the male.   
The albino nearly choked on his pizza several times because he had started laughing. Of course, you pat his back until he calmed down and gave him a glass of water which he gratefully emptied. After twenty minutes of laughing, you were lying on the sofa and wiping a tear from your eye, caused by the video – no matter how many times you watched it, it was still absolutely and utterly side-splitting.   
Your German friend’s situation was no better – he was rolling on the carpet, holding his stomach and laughing like a lunatic. Good thing that you were the only ones living on the last floor, otherwise you would have disturbed a lot of people. And not just because of the noise – no, indeed your laughter was loud but both of you were laughing so hard that one would assume you are some kind of weird psychopaths.   
“He threw a nugget at the TV!” Gilbert hysterically cried, face red from laughing. “What a waste of a perfectly good chicken nugget!”   
“Yeah!” You agreed, giggling and got up. You cleared your throat, did the best manly macho man voice you could muster and took a mushroom from the pizza. “YOU ARE TOO LATE!” You yelled at the TV, throwing the mushroom at the screen but it hit the floor instead. The red eyed boy laughed your imitation of Mr. Smith – he was completely breathless when he spoke up again.   
“God… hasi, that was a perfectly good mushroom but you are very good at mirroring Mr. Smith…” He   
“I know!” You grinned and sat down next to your classmate who was still trying to calm down and was lying on your carpet.   
“I am a little hungry. How about we go to some fast food restaurant and get something?” Gilbert suggested.   
“Sure! Do you want to go to McDonald’s?”   
“Ja! I haven’t been there in a long time! After that, let’s go to Starbucks!” The albino said as both of you got up.   
“Alright! Wait for me outside, I need to change!”   
“But you look hot in (f/c) pajama shorts with white dots…” He mumbled and you looked at him.   
“What was that?”   
“Nothing!” Gilbert laughed and ran out of your apartment.   
Sighing, you put on a (f/c) dress with thin straps and took your purse. In your purse you put your phone, keys, wallet and cardigan. You put your cardigan just in case it got cold since it was getting late. Then you went in front of your mirror and started combing your hair, you styled it a bit and then went out of your apartment, locking it.   
You looked around the hall, trying to spot the German model but he wasn’t there. Then, you rang his doorbell but no one answered.   
“Where could he b-” You were mumbling when someone threw the elevator’s door open – Gilbert. You turned you attention to him and… wow. He looked… very stylish. The boy was wearing a white shirt, black pants, shoes and… a bowtie!   
“Sorry for being late!” He was still trying to catch his breath. Had he been running?   
“It’s no problem!” You politely smiled at him.   
“Gott, I probably look like a mess. Anyways, here!” The red eyed boy handed you a rose. “I got it for you but be careful because it still has some thorns.”   
“Thanks and don’t worry! I will be careful. You look great, by the way.”   
“Not as good as you!” He winked.   
“Of course not. I am just too fabulous.” Both of you laughed and went in the elevator.   
When you got out and went in the lobby, you saw Mr. Smith. The man noticed you as well and laughed.   
“Hohoho! If it isn’t my most favorite brat and her new boyfriend – Mr. Jacuzzi!”   
“Shut up Santa fucking Claus. He is not my boyfriend!” Your cheeks burnt in embarrassment and you glared at the older man.   
“Yet.” Gilbert added and the two males laughed.   
“Hey! Whose side are you on?” You glared at your classmate.   
“On the most funny person’s side, of course!” He replied, looking at Mr. Smith.   
“Ha! I knew I would like you, boy! Guys who have Jacuzzis built in their rooms always have great tastes!” Mr. Smith said.   
“Yours.” The red eyed boy said, looking at you and wrapping an arm around your shoulders.   
“… I take my words back, Mr. Jacuzzi, your taste is crap.” 

All of you laughed.   
“Don’t be jealous, Mr. S! You will find someone who likes your crappy sense of humor one day! Just hurry up and look for someone while you still have several hairs left on your head.”   
“You sound like my ex-wife.” He grunted. “Careful boy, she may be charming and pretty now but as they age they become real crocodiles… yes, women are very interesting specimen…”   
“Watch your tongue, Dexter!”You glared at your landlord who just smirked in return.   
“I’ll keep it in mind…”   
“Gilbert!” You hit his back and Mr. Smith laughed.   
“See Jacuzzi boy? This one is already showing her fangs! Now off you go! Go on your date or whatever you call it nowadays! Shoo!”   
“It isn’t a date- hey!”   
The man pretty much kicked you out and before he closed the door he shouted:   
“The red rose says something else!”   
You sighed and your friend rubbed your back.   
“I like him. He’s cool.”   
“Yeah, he is.” You admit, smiling. “He is a real bum sometimes, though. Shall we go?”   
“Ja!” Gilbert took your hand and led you to McDonald’s. You felt a little weird at first but decided that you liked him holding you hand. It was pleasant.   
Soon, you arrived at McDonald’s. It was cramped but after about fifteen minutes you got your food and went to Starbucks. There, you got drinks, sat on a table and started chatting.   
“How did you become a model?” You decided to ask since you had been wondering for a while.   
“Well…” Gilbert stared at the table, thinking about how it all started and looking for the right words to start his tale with.   
“It happened two years ago. It was summer vacation and Ludwig was living in Paris at that time. My parents sent me to visit him and since he didn’t want to leave me alone at his house he took me with him to work. He worked as a L’oreal model and during the photo shoot the director noticed me and told me to go get my hair and everything else done and after the hair stylists and makeup artists were done with me, I was given clothes and that is how I took part in my very first advertisement. Apparently, the model who the clothes I was wearing were for quit and the director wasn’t sure what to do. Then he saw me, liked me and just told me that I am going to take part of the advertisement. He nearly got fired for his sudden decision but fortunately, the advertisement became really popular and lots of people liked me and I’ve been in the modeling industry ever since.”   
“…Wow. I can’t believe it.” You said, amazed.   
“I know, it’s odd but this is how I-“   
“Mr. Beildschmidt was a model!”   
Then you started laughing and Gilbert rolled his eyes.   
“Of course that is what will impress you.”   
“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, do you like it? Is it hard? Modeling, I mean.”   
“Well, sometimes the photo shoots are really long and by the time I get home I am completely exhausted. Nevertheless, I really like it because I get to travel the world and meet all kinds of people. It’s fun.”   
“That’s awesom-”   
“Gilbert? Mi amigo? Is that you?” Someone called out and Gilbert turned to look at the person.   
“Toni!”   
The boy, a Spaniard, approached your table and high fived your companion.   
“How is it going? I see that you are with a beautiful chica! Am I interrupting something?” He wiggled his eyebrows and you couldn’t help but giggle.   
Antonio, as far as you remembered that was his name, was very handsome. He had tan skin, green eyes and chocolate brown hair. He was definitely very good-looking and he was dressed very well.   
“Not really.” You replied. “I am (y/n) and you must be Antonio! Gilbert has told me a lot about you!”   
“(Y/n)… What a pretty name! It suits you!”   
“Thanks! Why don’t you sit down with us?” You suggested. 

“Can I? Great!”   
“Awesome!” The albino grinned, happy that you seemed to be getting along with his friend and the three of you started conversing.   
From your conversation, you learnt that the Spaniard was a nice guy. He was cheerful, funny and an airhead. He and Gilbert had met during a photo shoot, he was the same age as you and the albino and he was in (city name) for a week.   
At one point, one of the three of you suggested to go see a horror movie at the cinema and you really did go but left somewhere in the middle of the movie since you got bored. The movie was disappointing but you left the cinema with laughter. There was nothing better than mocking a scary movie.   
And here you were, walking around the lively streets at 10:30 PM. How exiting!   
The city was really pretty at night. You liked observing it from your balcony but you also enjoyed walking around town at night. Both experiences were different yet similar and you couldn’t decide which you liked better.   
The streets were just as lively as they were during the day. You parted ways with Antonio after exchanging phone numbers.   
Then, it was just you and Gilbert and a comfortable silence surrounded you.   
You were looking at the people on the street you were currently walking on. Suddenly, you spotted a very familiar-looking blonde… Mr. Kirkland!   
“Huh…? Who’s this…?” You mumbled and the albino looked around, trying to see who you were talking about and his gaze fell upon your literature teacher and… the woman walking with him who was currently giggling.   
For some reason you had the urge to hide. To not be seen, to vanish right here and right now. You felt a painful ache in your chest, you felt a mixture of sorrow and anger when you saw the two smiling at each other. The weird typhoon of emotions made you feel so… so odd, uncomfortable and you weren’t sure why you were upset and why you wanted to cry.   
“Frau-” The German started but was interrupted.   
“Ms. (l/n)! What a pleasant surprise! You heard the Brit’s voice and you froze. What was this…? Fear…? You usually liked talking to the young teacher but right now you desperately wanted to get away. You wanted this conversation to be over as soon as possible so you could go home. “Oh… and Mr. Beildschmidt? I didn’t know the two of you were friends.”   
“Well, we are!” Gilbert snapped at the blonde, annoyed by the disapproval in his voice.   
“We live in the same building…” You mumbled. The green eyed male raised a thick eyebrow. He kneeled so he was on your level and looked into your eyes.   
“(Nickname)? What’s the matter? You are usually a bit louder when you speak.”   
“I’m just… not feeling very well…” You responded, wanting to crawl away.   
“Better head home, then. Do you have any warmer clothes to put on? It’s cold tonight.”   
“Yeah, I’m okay.” You said as you unzipped your bag, took your cardigan out and put it on.   
“Arthur? Are these two your students?” The woman asked. She had a French accent and was very pretty. Just like you, she was holding a rose. Both she and Arthur were dressed really well. Were they on a… date?   
The very thought made you feel miserable.   
“Yes, love. My best student – (y/n)(l/n) and… Mr. Beildschmidt. I told you about him earlier.”   
“Oh! I see.” She giggled.   
You felt your lip quiver so you bit it and tried to smile but it was hard. In the end, you just forced a small smile on your face – it wasn’t that noticeable but it was the best you could muster right now.   
“Yeah, well… it was nice seeing you Mr. Kirkland and…”   
“Francoise.” The woman smiled.   
“Ja, it has been a tiring day, we will go now.” Gilbert took your hand, the one holding the rose, squeezed it and you squealed, feeling some of the thorns dig into your skin. You dropped the rose and clutched onto your bleeding palm.   
“Shit! I am sorry, (y/n)! I didn’t mean to!” The red eyed boy hurried to apologize and picked up the rose.   
“I-It’s okay…” You reassured, smiling a little.   
Arthur sighed and took a white handkerchief out of his coat’s pocket. He was mumbling something about how Gilbert should mind his language around ladies and make sure that next time the rose he buys doesn’t have thorns.   
“Lend me your hand for a moment, darling.” The Brit said and you complied, opening your palm. He wiped some of the blood off and wrapped the handkerchief around your hand. It made you think of the time he bandaged your knee and took you to that magnificent restaurant. You wondered if he had taken Francoise there. Your stomach churned and you pushed those thoughts away.   
“There.” The green eyed male smiled.   
“Thanks…” You mumbled. “I’m s-sorry for the trouble, Mr. Kirkland.”   
“You’re welcome, (y/n). It was no problem. Bandage your hand once you get home, alright?”   
You nodded, exchanged farewells and headed home.   
The walk home was silent. Gilbert was trying to decide whether to say something or not but didn’t say anything because he couldn’t find the right words and he didn’t want to upset you more.   
When you unlocked your door, he handed you your rose and you mumbled a silent “bye” to which he nodded.   
Once you were in your apartment, you laid on the sofa and let out a tired sigh. You would have fallen asleep right there and then if only you hadn’t felt the pain your hand. You got up and opened your palm, looking at the bloodied handkerchief.   
“I better do something about that…” You said to no one in particular and walked towards the bathroom where you bandaged your hand and started washing Arthur’s handkerchief.


	11. Chapter 11

When you woke up the next day, your throat was sore and you couldn’t stop coughing and sniffling. And once again, the tissue box became your best friend.   
Since you woke up pretty early, you decided to start the day with a warm cup of tea to soothe your aching throat. You decided not to go to school for at least two days – enough time for you to get back on your feet and get your dress for Halloween tailored.   
Putting on the oversized sweater your aunt gave you last Christmas, you went to the kitchen and started warming up water for your tea.   
You liked the sweater that you were currently wearing. However, you only wore it at home when it got cold or on Christmas. It was very soft and warm, red, had some snowflakes and a cute deer on it. This particular article of clothing always made you remember the (f/c) hoodie which was also given to you by your aunt. Not only was it (f/c) but it also had a really cool moose with sunglasses on it!   
You giggled, remembering your birthday party – it was around 6 PM, the time your aunt, uncle and cousins always arrived. You loved all of them so much! They were all very funny, cheerful and our closest relatives.   
Your birthday parties were always split in two parts: the party during the day with your friends and the one at night – with your relatives. That way you got to spend the whole day with people you loved and held dear.   
Anyways, as usual, your cousin was joking with you before she even set a foot in your apartment and her brother quickly wished you a happy birthday and went to your room to watch Disney channel. Your aunt was laughing in her… unique but funny way and your uncle looked ready to party. By that I mean that he was ready to open a beer bottle and talk to your parents, joke with them and talk about… god, you never did learn what they always spoke about.   
Once everyone wished you a happy birthday and entered the living room, your aunt told you to close your eyes and after you did, you could hear some kind of noise – as if someone was rummaging through a bag, Then your aunt told you to lift your arms which you did as well but you were afraid that she would start tickling you. Much to your surprise, she just slid something over your head – either a sweater or a hoodie. After that she told you to open your eyes and when you did the first thing you saw was all of your relatives’ grinning faces. Then you slowly looked down and started giggling as soon as you saw the moose with sunglasses.   
Even now you couldn’t help but giggle yet curse yourself for forgetting that awesome hoodie at your parents’ house. This is why you always had to make a list of things you had and wanted to take with you.   
“I really need to tell mom to send it to me…” You mumbled, taking a sip of your tea which was as alluring as always. You weren’t sure exactly what you liked about all of the teas you had – both the taste and the smell were wonderful.   
Sitting down on the sofa, you wrapped the blanket which always laid there around yourself and started watching Sherlock. You were determined to finish season 3 while you were sick!   
The room was warm, you were warm, your tea was warm and Sherlock was as funny and as clever as always. The atmosphere was so calm and inviting, just like the beds in Ikea, and it was all wonderful until…   
Someone was furiously ringing your doorbell and you quickly turned your head towards the door, leading to the hall in annoyance.   
“I’m coming!” You tried to shout but ended up coughing.   
When you opened the front door you saw Gilbert.   
“Frau! Are ou ready for – ohhh, nice pajama pants!” He grinned but you just glared, crossing your arms over your chest.   
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” The albino defensively lifted his hands in front of him. “But seriously, why are you still in your pajamas?”   
“I am not going to go to school today.” You replied, ceasing your glare.   
“What? Why? God, you sound terrible but still… How can you abandon me like this?!”   
“Don’t be overly dramatic. I have a sore throat. I probably caught a cold… last night…” You didn’t really think of the events that occurred the previous day.   
“Ja, I guess that explains the red nose. Anyways, I guess I will be going then.” The German said, grinning.   
“Alright. B-“   
“Wait!” He stopped you from closing the door. “Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?”   
“Goodbye, Gilbert.” You slammed the door in his face. You giggled when you heard him angrily speaking German on the other side of the door. Then, you walked back into the living room and resumed doing what you were doing before.   
At one point you were so comfortable that you closed your eyes, felt yourself relax and drifted off to sleep.   
***   
You were woken up by someone ringing your doorbell. You got up from the sofa, yawned and got up, opening the door. It was Gilbert again, not that you were surprised.   
“Gil…? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school…?”   
“It’s 4:30 PM, frau. I finished school about two hours ago.”   
“What? It is?!”   
“Ja. I came here to give you the notes I took in class today and tell you about the stuff we studied and homework and shit.”   
“You? Taking notes in class? Scratch that, you paid attention to class?”   
“I did. Here.” The red eyed boy handed you a notebook. You took it, a little confused and opened it. The first thing you read was “Notes for (y/n)”. That was actually kind of sweet. Then you quickly scanned everything he had written – the guy surely knew how to take notes!   
“I- Thank you, Gilbert. I really appreciate it. Anyways, don’t stay out there! Come on in!”   
After he came in and you locked the door, you went to the living room and just as promised your friend told you about everything that you missed in school today. He explained today’s lessons pretty well and you were able to understand them.   
“So when do you plan to come to school again?” The German inquired as he drank the coffee you had made for him.   
“On Thursday. Why?”   
“Not going to miss “detention” with Mr. Kirkland, eh?” He winked, laughing. “Anyways, this is not why I brought this up. There will be a Halloween party at school on Friday. Are you going to go?”   
“Hmm…” You took a sip from your tea. “I am not sure. Why? Will you go?”   
“Only if you agree to come with me.”   
You stared at each other for a few seconds.   
“Alright, I guess. Sounds fun. How will you be dressed?” You smiled at him.   
“You will see. It’s a surprise!”   
“Oh really?”   
“Ja. How about you?”   
“It’s a surprise~” You mocked and the albino laughed.   
“Alright then. I am sure you will look great.”   
“Even if I am dressed in one of those cheap costumes they sell everywhere?”   
“Uh… I guess?” He tried to smile charmingly but both of you just ended up laughing.   
“Nice try.”   
“It was worth it. It’s getting late so I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess. I will bring you notes and everything again.”   
“Thanks! Really Gil, you are awesome!”   
“So I have been told.” He smirked and you unlocked the front door for him. However, before you could tell him goodbye he turned to look at you. “Are you sure that you don’t want to give me a goodbye kiss?”   
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to give you a goodbye kiss.” You said, somewhat embarrassed.   
“If you say so~”   
You just rolled your eyes but smiled anyways.   
“Bye Gilbert. See you tomorrow.”   
“Bye, liebe.”   
And with that, you closed the door and went to cook dinner.


	12. Chapter 12

After several days passed, you felt much better. Your cold had finally gone away, meaning that you needn’t carry a tissue box everywhere you went and that was certainly a relief. 

Today, it was Halloween. The weather was quite pleasant – the sun which was shining brightly, the light breeze that was blowing and the somewhat pleasant sound of the red, orange, yellow and green leaves crunching beneath your feet as you walked. The streets were swarming with people – parents with their children, headed either towards school or kindergarten, teenagers and adults. Most people had costumes on but since it was Halloween today, everybody had the chance to dress up however they wanted and who wouldn’t take that opportunity? 

On your way out of your apartment building you saw Mrs. Smith. She was dressed up like a witch – her costume was so authentic – she had clearly spent a long time trying to make it perfect. You were pretty sure that she said that she made it, too. Not to mention, she made the best impression of a witch’s laugh that you had ever heard! The middle-aged woman had told you that she was in the building because she wanted to visit Mr. Smith. When she said that, you could almost imagine how their conversation would go. As soon as your favorite landlord saw his wife (or, rather, ex-wife) he would have the most terrified look on his face one has ever seen and with a shaking finger he would point at her and screaming: “Bloody hell! Do witches still exist?!” Then, Mrs. Smith’s eye would twitch in annoyance but she would smile sweetly, looking at her ex-husband who would probably be wearing a white tank top, dirtied with ketchup or mustard (or probably both) and those shorts he always wore no matter how cold it was. She would ask him whether he was dressed as a sloth or a hobo. 

‘Hmm… actually, I am not sure if Mrs. Smith still compares him to sloths. But I do know that she loves calling him a hobo. Man, I love that woman! She is so witty and smart! Can’t believe she married Mr. Smith! They still often get together to argue, though. Last time they did it was fun!” You thought, lifting the skirts of your stunning gown to walk past the water on the pavement which was flowing from some man who was washing his car in front of his garage. 

You were happy that everything went as planned – you were wearing a white Elizabethan era dress which you had tailored while you were sick. The shoes you wore matched it perfectly and had a small heel, making you look slightly taller than you actually were. On your head stood the headband that you bought from your trip to Vienna. Your hair was curled, the small jewels on the headband sparkled and your curls bounced with every step you took. It was safe to say that you were absolutely dazzling. 

And when someone looks their best, it is only natural to feel the need to brag, isn’t it? Well, Gilbert deprived you from that which frustrated you to no end. This morning you knocked on his apartment’s door, waited for a long time but he didn’t answer. So much for going to school together.   
“Stupid Gilbert…” You angrily muttered. “Not to mention he asked me to go to the Halloween party tonight with him…” 

You stopped as soon as you heard trotting behind you. Turning, you saw a carriage – a very beautiful one – with two white horses. The driver was dressed like the carriage drivers from one of the historical shows you watched but you weren’t completely sure which one. 

“Some people take Halloween too seriously… still, that’s pretty neat…” You noted as you started walking again. 

The vehicle stopped several feet from you and the driver stepped on the ground, waiting. You curiously looked at the man as you walked past the carriage but he stopped you. 

“Ms. (L/n)? I am awfully sorry for the delay.” He bowed. Then, politely smiling, he opened the carriage’s door for you. 

“Delay? But what are you…” 

“Guten morgen, (y/n)!” 

Oh, god. 

You knew that voice all too well. It belonged to your annoying albino friend, who had apparently left his apartment earlier this morning to hire a carriage. 

A fucking carriage. 

“(Y/nnnnn)? What are you waiting for? Get in!” 

Before you even had the chance to protest, you found yourself sitting on the soft cushions inside the vehicle. Then, the sound of the horses trotting down the street resumed. 

“Gilbert, I…” 

The words died in your throat as soon as you lifted your head to look at him. 

Your German friend’s costumes beauty could rival yours. His costume was like a noble lord’s or a king’s. His hair was somewhat combed, making him look more attractive that usually. The colors dominating in his costume were white and Prussian blue. 

“See something you like?” A haughty smirk made its way on his face when he noticed the way you were gaping at him. 

“…” 

“…” 

“Yes! Your costume is amazing!” You responded and a coy smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you felt his ego dropping. “Of course, you look good as well.” 

Once again, his ego went skyrocket high but you enjoyed watching him squirm like he sometimes wavered under Mr. Kirkland’s gaze during tests. 

“I knew you would think so!” Gilbert proudly stated. “A-and you look pretty good yourself…” He said, inspecting you from head to toe but then turning his head to the side with cheeks dusted in a light pink. 

Earlier, you were ready to start bragging as soon as you saw him but now, you couldn’t. You felt kind of nervous for whatever reason and you wanted to say something but you weren’t sure exactly what. 

“…I can’t believe you hired a goddamn carriage.” 

“Don’t you like it?” 

“I do but we will draw too much attention as soon as it stops in front of school!”

“You are saying it like it’s a bad thing.” 

“It is! Unlike you, I don’t like attention and I am not keen on knowing what every single person in school will say when they see you with some nerdy chick.” 

“You are not nerdy. Let them say whatever they want.” He smiled. 

“You aren’t helping.” 

“Oh, come on! Calm down and take this…” The German model handed you a mask and you looked at him, confused. “Everyone must wear a mask.”

“What’s the point?” 

“Complete anonymousity.” 

“Won’t everyone still be able to tell who is who?” 

“Nah. Before the party we will change masks again. You’ll see, finding out who is who will be difficult unless someone reveals themselves but I don’t think anyone would do that.” 

“Why not?” 

“There will be games. With awards. Ever since that was announced, all kinds of rumors have been going around the school about what the rewards are. Heck, they said that even teachers will participate if they want to.” 

“It sounds fun.” You said, taking the mask and looking at it. Even though white matched with everything you didn’t think it would look that good with this mask but you weren’t going to get picky. “Thanks.”   
“Don’t mention it.” 

Like you expected, the carriage really drew a lot of attention. Surprisingly, the masks concealed your identities rather well and as for Gilbert’s hair – he put a hat on so it was covered well because if he didn’t he would stand out too much and everyone would know who he is. 

When your friend told you not to bring any textbooks or notebooks you were surprised. You couldn’t believe that you weren’t going to study today! However, he was right and you were relieved that you didn’t bring unnecessary baggage with you. 

At the entrance, a girl from the student council stopped both of you and gave you two numbers. Then she instructed you what to do. 

“Go to the notice board in the hall and check what your numbers are. If you are in 12th grade, look at that column and see which teacher you will be with.” 

After thanking her, you did as instructed. Your number was 69 (to which Gilbert wiggled his eyebrows, resulting with a glare from you) and his was 96. 

“Fuck…” Gilbert said. “Beildschmidt, room 70.” 

You carefully scanned the notice board until you found your number. 

“Room 305…” You felt your heart skip a beat. “Kirkland.” 

***

You nervously made your way to the room after you parted with your German friend. That was kind of hard, considering how angry he was and how he wouldn’t stop complaining. 

Upon entering the room you saw that there were students scattered all around. 

“Pick a seat different from your usual one, darling.” Mr. Kirkland said and you froze. He was standing next to the door. 

Wait, did he recognize you? But Gilbert said… 

“If you take my class, that is.” The Brit added. 

Oh. So he didn’t recognize you. The mask was more efficient than you thought it would be. 

Slowly nodding your head, you made your way to the back of the classroom. Sitting there was so odd, especially since you have always sat at the front. Even if he didn’t tell you to take a different seat from your usual one, you still wouldn’t have been able to sit at your desk since it was already occupied by some girls. In fact, nearly all of the front rolls were. 

Soon, the bell rang Mr. Kirkland sat at his desk, inspecting everyone. 

You were surprised that he wasn’t wearing a costume – just a light green shirt, a dark green sweater and brown pants. For the first time you saw him look so… casual. You kind of liked seeing him like that although he looked really handsome in the suits he wore. 

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen.” 

Several girls giggled and that annoyed you a little. You could almost swear that you saw his eyebrow twitch but you weren’t completely sure. From all of his classes, you had learnt that whenever his eyebrow twitched he was annoyed – in fact, it twitched pretty often, especially when he spoke to a certain red eyed boy you knew. The thought of him being annoyed by these girls made you feel kind of… happy. It was a bizarre feeling. 

“So there are some nice costumes around. I didn’t expect this many.” 

Some laughed and others didn’t. 

“You there! Is that a wig or is your hair normally that long? If it really is that long, get a haircut.” 

“I am dressed as Samara…” 

“Samara? But wasn’t that a town in Russia?” 

Silence.

It was obvious how badly everyone wanted to laugh but because of your literature teacher’s authority no one did. 

“Alright then. And you? Forgot to get out of the bed sheets this morning?” 

“I am a ghost!” The guy with a white bed sheet draped over his head enthusiastically replied.

Arthur nodded and moved on. 

“You! Why is there a pumpkin on your head…? Wait, actually I don’t want to know.” 

The guy who had a pumpkin on his head, a goddamn huge pumpkin with a carved face’s shoulders slumped in disappointment when he didn’t get the chance to say anything. One would assume he was the headless horseman but he was dressed in regular clothes so it seems like Mr. Kirkland assumed he just wanted to wear a pumpkin over his head. 

Scanning everyone once again, your teacher’s eyes stopped on you and he observed you for a while. Your heart started beating faster, nervous that he would pick you but he didn’t. Instead he just complimented your costume, several heads turned to look at you and you just thanked him with a smile.   
After torturing nearly everyone because of their costumes and even arguing with some kid with a shopping bag over his head, Mr. Kirkland sighed. Before he could say anything, someone spoke up. 

“Where does the word “witch” come from?” 

“Interesting question.” It was obvious that his interest was perked. “The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.” In fact,wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats, on Halloween night.” 

“Is there a word describing the fear of Halloween?” Someone else asked. 

“I am surprised by your sudden interest but yes. Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.”

“What kind of loser is afraid of Halloween? Today is literally the best day ever!” The boy with a shopping bag over his head asked. 

“Shut it, jackass.” A girl dressed like a fairy responded.

“What did you say?!” 

“All of you, shut up unless you have any other questions about Halloween!” 

“Why are owls such a popular Halloween image?” 

Oh! You knew that one! 

“I am actually not sure…” Mr. Kirkland looked thoughtful as he rubbed his cheek. 

“Because in Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.” You said. 

“Where do you know that from, miss?” 

“I like history and am curious about where certain customs came from.” 

“Interesting. Very well.” Your teacher praised. 

“Why are black and orange associated with Halloween? I mean, why not red and blue?” Someone asked and everyone went silent. 

“Do you not study literature, young man?” The Brit asked, rubbing his temples in annoyance. “Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.” 

The questions continued. Some answered Mr. Kirkland an some whoever knew or whoever googled them if no one knew the answer. By the time third period passed, the Brit was tired of all the questions so he played some horror movie. In order not to get in the projector’s way, he sat at the back on the free seat next to you. 

“Pardon me, love. You don’t mind my sitting here, do you?” 

“Of course not.” You shook your head. 

You were both silent for a while. He graded tests and you looked bored out of your mind. 

“Do you not like the movie?” 

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s not that. I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre in general. Otherwise, the movie is pretty mainstream as far as I am aware. Good choice.” You politely smiled at him and he smiled back. He had a nice smile. 

“Thank you. Truly, I had no idea what movies to download so I just found some movies with good ratings on IMDb.” 

“Oh!” You giggled. “I do that too when I am looking for a new historical show to watch!” 

“Speaking of that, your costume is absolutely stunning. It suits you well. How did you get interested in history? Most students despise it.” 

“Thanks.” You blushed. “Well, my dad is really good at history. Ever since I was little, he has been telling me about interesting historical events, wars, people and I guess the way he explained and described it all plays a huge part in my interest in history.” 

“I see. You also mentioned that you watch historical shows. Do you have any favorite ones?” 

“The Tudors was really good!” 

“I watch that one as well. It really is quite good, isn’t it?” 

You continued chatting and at one point you even helped him grade tests since while he was talking to you, he would miss some mistakes that you noticed. Yes, the two of you were definitely a good team. 

***   
It was 6:30 PM and the last bell for the day rang, announcing that the Halloween party would start soon. There were some people who decided to skip it but they weren’t many. 

“It was very pleasant talking to you.” Arthur said as he put the now graded tests in his bag. He was smiling. “You are an outstandingly smart young lady, indeed.” 

“Thank you, Sir. You were nice company as well! I hope that we can chat again some time!” 

“I assure you that we will. Well, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to give everyone their new mask.” 

“Alright. Actually Mr. K-“ 

Damn! You were used to calling him Mr. K! Now wasn’t the time to blow your cover! 

“-irkland? May I ask you a question?” 

He raised an eyebrow but nodded anyways.

“Ask away, dear.” 

“Why aren’t you dressed in a costume?” 

“Well, today no one is supposed to know who is who. If I were to wear my costume, then it would be pretty easy to tell me apart at the party, wouldn’t it?” 

“Oh! I see…” You blushed. 

“Didn’t anyone tell you yesterday or when the Halloween party was announced?” 

“Ah, no. I was absent for a while so I didn’t know.” 

“I see. Well, have fun at the party.” And with one last smile he went to his desk and took a big box from under it. 

It was no secret that the school didn’t have much money so you expected some cheap masks. You were pleasantly surprised, however. 

The literature teacher took out many beautifully-made masks. 

After telling everyone to come and take their new mask, people started queuing and taking their new mask. Surprisingly, Mr. Kirkland did consider the colors of everyone’s costumes and handed them a mask that matched. 

Everyone had already left the room when you waited for him to find you a mask. 

“I am sorry for making you wait so much. I just know that the mask is somewhere in here and I really want to give it to you. It will match your dress perfectly.” 

“It’s no problem.” You smiled, patiently waiting. 

“Aha! Here it is!” He took a mask out and your eyes widened. 

Originally, you intended to come to school with a mask so you took it upon yourself to look for some pretty ones on the internet. You stumbled upon a really pretty one. What was it called? Swarovski Crystal White Swan? That was it, as far as you could remember. It was really pretty, but the price was… well, not that nice. Even though you had money, you didn’t want to spend it on things you wouldn’t have the chance to use often. And as much as you liked that mask, you didn’t buy it. 

“Oh my god! It is beautiful!” 

“It is, isn’t it?” He smiled fondly at the mask. “My mother is a huge fan of masks. She loved buying the wretched things. Every single holiday, my father bought her masks and she was overjoyed by that. However, neither me nor my brothers have any use of them now. We don’t want to sell them but we don’t want to look at them any more either. Whenever I look at her masks I feel a wave of melancholy hit me so I decided it’s about time to get rid of them.” 

“…” You weren’t sure what to say. The blond looked so sad and sounded like it as well. You could relate to him to some point – you felt like that when you looked at the things your grandmother left behind. You didn’t want to throw them away and neither did your mom but you didn’t want to look at them either. Which is exactly why your mom put them in the storage room. 

“I still remember when my dad gave it to her. It was New Year’s Eve and she wore it the entire night. It was her most favorite one. It’s hard to believe that my parents’ love for each other never died. As marriage ages, it seems like your love for the person fades along the way but that was never the case with them…” 

“They truly sound like they were deeply in love.” You smiled gently. “This kind of love is hard to find nowadays…” 

“I second that.” The green eyed man nodded in agreement. 

“With all of the divorces, people marrying other people just because of their money…” You sighed. “It kind of makes you wonder where all of the enchanting feelings of fondness and love went to…” 

“Indeed, it does. Everything revolves around money, it seems. We can only hope for the best, right?” With a smile, he handed you the mask. “Here you go. It will look good on you.” 

“Are you sure I can have it? Really, you don’t have to give it to me unless you want to.” You smiled at him. 

“In the beginning I wasn’t planning on even taking it to school with me today. But now I want to give it to you. Come on, take it.” 

“Thank you.” You took the mask. “I’ll make sure to take good care of it.” 

He nodded and you looked around. 

“Um, Mr. Kirkland, where do I put it on?” 

“Oh! Here is fine. I will take the rest of the masks to the room in the back. Call me if you need anything.” 

And with that, he unlocked the door, leading to the back room and took the box there. 

Meanwhile, you took off the mask Gilbert gave you. 

Upon closer inspection, you noticed that you had to tie it and that was a problem. You put it on and tried to tie it but you really weren’t good at tying things behind your head, you discovered.   
“Mr. Kirkland?” You called out, holding the mask to your face. 

Within a second, the man emerged from the room. 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Um, I am sorry for bothering you but… can you help me tie it, please?” You turned and you heard him chuckle. 

“Of course! I almost forgot that you have to tie it.” He tied it and when he was done you turned. “You look beautiful. It suits you better than your old one.” 

“Thank you.” 

And really, Arthur’s mask looked much better on you than Gilbert’s. However, you discovered that when you went to the bathroom to drink water and had the chance to take a good look at yourself.


End file.
